In Grandmaster Flashes early days, his partner was
"Mean Gene" Livingston. Gene had a younger brother (who together were
known as the L Brothers) that used to practice with Flash named Theodore. Grand
Wizard Theodore not only had Flash as a mentor at age 13, he is also often credited with
the invention of scratching. He also created the needle drop, a technique widely
used.
In 1978, Whipper Whip and Dot-a-Rock were in a
group called The Mighty Gestapo Crew (with DJ Kenny B and Count D) and the Funky Phase
Four MC's. They battled a crew called The Notorious 2 (who's members included
Grandmaster Caz and JDL of the Cold Crush Brothers) at the Intersession Church on 155th
Street and Broadway.
Whipper Whip and Dot-A-Rock were also original
members of the Cold Crush Bros.
They are often referred to as the Fantastic Freaks
or Fantastic Romantic 5.
They battled many crews of the time most notably
the Cold Crush Brothers.
They put out the 12" "Can I Get A Soul
Clap" in 1980 which is still currently available on Tuff City Records.
The group never recorded an album, however, they do
appear in the film "Wild Style" and on the recently released battle tape against
Cold Crush at Harlem World in 1981.
* Bio info for Fantastic 5 courtesy
of oldschoolhiphop.com*
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